Editorial: No valid cause to deny zoning for Wal-Mart

The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce has decided that it knows best as to exactly how many Wal-Mart stores should be in Las Cruces.

The three Wal-Mart and one Sam's Club stores in Las Cruces now are just fine, said Green Chamber Executive Director Carrie Hamblen.

"It says a lot that our community can support four Wal-Mart entities," she said. "We are not out to say the Wal-Marts here shouldn't exist."

But, a proposed Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at the southwest corner of Valley Drive and Tashiro Road would be one Wal-Mart too many, the Green Chamber has decided. And so, they have launched a petition drive seeking to pressure the Las Cruces City Council into rejecting a zoning change for the property that was approved in February by the city Planning and Zoning Commission.

Unfortunately, some City Council members appear to be susceptible to that pressure. The council had considered just tabling the request Monday before being advised by City Manager Robert Garza and City Attorney William "Rusty" Babbington Jr. not to.

"(They have) the legal right to go to the government and ask to have it zoned," Babbington said of the Colorado property owners who have made the request. "If you (the council) fail to follow your ordinance, it is a violation of that individual's right to due process."

Council members reluctantly agreed to consider the zoning change at their April 20 meeting, but with the warning that the meeting will be contentious.

We don't think it should be.

It hasn't been confirmed yet that the zoning change being requested is for Wal-Mart, but lets assume that it is. Wal-Mart has operated successfully in Las Cruces for decades. The company employs hundreds of residents and provides products and services to thousands of local shoppers.

Just last week, Wal-Mart announced that 3,980 employees in New Mexico received pay raises starting April 4 as part of a companywide increase announced in February. The starting wage is now $9, and will increase to $10 in February 2016.

The Green Chamber argues that big-box stores like Wal-Mart don't return as much to the local economy as locally owned stores do, nor do they contribute as much to local causes. Those are all fair points for consumers to consider.

Shoppers vote with their feet every day when making choices about where they do business. For those who feel that Wal-Mart does not do enough to contribute to the local community, they should patronize those stores that do more.

But the fact that local demand now warrants a new store suggests that thousands of local shoppers are happy to do business with Wal-Mart. We have never tried to build this level of protectionism into our zoning code before, and we shouldn't start now.